Many drivers find themselves in a catch 22 situation - after driving over the road, they've taken a local job for several years, only to find when that job ends many new employers consider their years of experience irrelevant. Considering that many drivers find driving locally challenging, they take the requirement as a slight on their skills. But, maybe there's another way to look at it.
In any job market, employers are looking for the least expensive way to get the job done. Hiring a driver who's spent the last few months or years successfully doing a job that is similar to the job the employer has will always be considered a less expensive and less risky hire than hiring someone who has been working at something completely different. Driving a truck over the road is not an easy thing and beyond the necessary driving and planning skills not used in local driving, it requires a lifestyle commitment.
After years of driving locally, an over the road company will reasonably expect you are likely to continue searching for another local job. It's not unreasonable for a potential employer to be unwilling to commit their time and energy retraining you for a job you're expected to leave at the first opportunity. Everyone understands the hardships and challenges that driving over the road presents to a driver, but if that is what the job is then the employer needs to find the driver that's best suited to it.
The same thing applies to differences in the type of experience you have. If you've spent the last few years driving a fuel tanker locally for a chain of convenience stores, that's hardly the same job as driving OTR for a general freight hauler. Its not a matter of which requires better skills or which is more challenging, its a matter of they're not the same jobs. In tough economic times, its easier and less expensive for an employer to hire someone who has prior experience doing the same job they have, than it is to retrain someone no matter how good their driving skills may be.
If you've spent the last few years driving locally and you want to drive over the road again, or if you're looking to switch from one kind of frieght to another, your best option may lie in hooking up with one of the companies that hire new drivers. That may well result in a pay cut, going through a retraining, a loss of prestige and a more difficult lifestyle, a hard thing to swallow with years of experience.
But, it is what it is. Approach your job search the same way an employer does - look for jobs similar to what you were doing and that match both your recent skills and lifestyle. I know that's a hard thing to do when you're unemployed and need to work. But you can't blame the prospective employer for trying to protect themselves and make the best hire for their company, anymore than they can blame you for trying to do the right thing by yourself and find the best job.
So, if local jobs can't be found and you need to work - you do what you have to do. Nothing has to be permanent.
